The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting colder and wetter. So, if you want to keep your valuable feet and toes warm and dry, then it is time to put on your boots. LL Bean has a great selection of Made in the USA of truly waterproof boots. Introduced in 1912 for walking the wet, muddy Maine woods, these boots have been appreciated for their superior functionality for over 100 years. Today, gardeners and hunters alike write to say L.L.Bean Boots are still their favorite shoes for wet weather. LL Bean has been greatly imitated over the years, but none has the quality of the original (duck boots). Still made in Brunswick, Maine.

LLBean Women’s 10″ Shearling-Lined Boots

Updated for this year is a woman’s boot with just a little different color. Combines waterproof protection with the supple comfort of full-grain leather.

LL Bean 8″ Woman’s Boot

Now you can enjoy the same quality and performance of our classic-style L.L.Bean Boots with the amazing softness of tumbled leather. Our Tumbled-Leather L.L.Bean Boots combine the water-resistant protection of rubber bottom boots with rich, full-grain US leather that has been gently tumbled for a remarkably soft and broken-in feel you have to experience to believe. We’re talking childhood-baseball-mitt soft. The moment you put them on, it will feel as if you’ve been wearing them for years.

Men’s Tumbled Leather 10″ Shearling Lined Boots

Whoever says “they don’t build things like they used to,” doesn’t own these boots. Today, our signature boots are still sewn right here in Maine – one pair at a time – by expert craftspeople whose technical skills and passion for their work is evident in every pair of boots they make. Warm, dry feet haven’t gone out of style in a hundred years, so we haven’t needed to change L.L.’s innovative design. Our “duck”’ boots combine waterproof protection with supple comfort. What if you do not like boots, yet you want something waterproof? The solution is the Bean Shoe (Men’s bean shoe pictured).

Mainpoint: LL Bean has a few items of clothing made in USA, plus many items for the outdoors made in the USA.

I have scanned many internet sites for made in USA items especially clothing. Many of the Made in USA internet sites are a mixture of many different items, but they usually have a limited number of choices. I was looking up LL Bean to see if they had any US made crew neck sweaters. Sorry, but they don’t, however, they had another sweater made by Fall River. Plus they had some dress shirts made by the New England Shirt Company, and some twill pants made by Brooklyn Britches. LL Bean has many boots and many socks made in the USA to chose from as well as a few belts and hats.

New England Shirt Co.

Brooklyn Britches

Fall River

Kokatat Paddling Jacket

LL BeanBike Jersey

As you go to the site, under search you can type in “made in usa” and there are actually quite a few odds and ends that are made in the United States. Besides the above clothing, they have furniture, both indoor and outdoor, camping gear, canoes, water bottles, bicycling carriers, tools, snowshoes and a lot of other outdoor gear. It made for a nice little search. Obviously, most of the items in LL Bean (like just about all stores in the US) are imported, but they do have some different made in USA items.

L.L. Bean: Hunting Boot Gaining Popularity With Younger Crowds | TheLedger.com. This appeared in the local newspaper on December 30, 2011. Written by David Sharp of the associated Press. Like a few other companies such as Levi’s, Ralph Lauren and Eddie Bauer, L.L. Bean is bringing back “Made in the USA” back with its special hunting boots. And like the other companies, the product they brought back is a an old favorite, which is the “Retro style” of hunting boots. See the above link for the entire article.

By DAVID SHARP
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 10:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, December 29, 2011 at 10:29 p.m.

BRUNSWICK, Maine | A nearly century-old hunting boot is catching on with a younger generation that sees the utilitarian footwear as hip.

L.L Bean’s familiar duck boot with leather uppers and rubber soles — designed for slogging through mud and snow — has become something of a fashion statement owing to its newfound popularity on college campuses, the company says. Another reason is new styles, including something Leon Leonwood Bean surely never envisioned in 1912: bright blue and pink leather, new for spring.

Part of the success of the boot is its versatility, in barnyards or in cities, in snow or rain.

At Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Zina Huxley-Reicher, of New York, wears her dark brown, shearling-lined boots nearly every day, with a skirt or jeans. She has only one pair, but some classmates have several.

“They are very practical, but they’ve also become a fashion trend,” she said. “They’re simple and kind of have that rugged look that has been adopted as a fashionable thing.”

Sales have grown from 150,000 pairs four years ago to about 400,000 this year, said Jack Samson, L.L. Bean senior manager for manufacturing in Brunswick. Next year, demand is projected to reach 500,000.

The well-known boot appears to be benefiting from a retro trend, whether it’s penny loafers or the Gap’s 1969 series blue jeans, said Candace Corlett, president of WSL Strategic Retail in New York.

“It’s sort of like the Coca-Cola bottle or the sleek silver lines of Apple. It’s iconic. And when you have that kind of icon, you leverage it,” Corlett said. “The good news is that L.L. Bean’s icon from decades ago is striking an emotional chord with people who’re yearning for the good old days.”

Another factor that could be helping Bean: There’s been little that’s new and exciting in footwear in recent years beyond UGG boots and Crocs, said Alexander Geyman, editor of Focus on Fashion Retail, outside Los Angeles. Trendy UGG boots and the Timberland brand outstrip Bean’s in sales, he said.

The original hunting shoe is not revered just at L.L. Bean. It’s become something of an unofficial symbol of Maine, like the rocky coast and lobsters. There’s a giant L.L. Bean boot outside the 24-hour retail store, near the company’s headquarters in Freeport. Tourists regularly snap photos.

This holiday season, L.L. Bean featured one of its factory workers in a national television advertising campaign that capitalized on the boot’s popularity.

The boots carry the “Made in the USA” label, something that’s hard to find these days in footwear. Nationwide, the number of shoe-manufacturing jobs dropped from more than 200,000 in the 1970s to 12,500 this year, according to the U.S. Labor Department. In Maine, shoe-manufacturing jobs peaked at more than 25,000 in the 1960s, and last year there were 1,300 jobs, according to the Maine Department of Labor.

Well-known Maine brands like G.H. Bass, Cole Haan, Sebago and Dexter are now made abroad. But L.L. Bean has resisted the notion of making its Bean boots overseas.

“We’ve made a commitment since it’s our signature product, and because of our heritage, that they’ll always be made in Maine,” spokeswoman Carolyn Beem said.

As the story goes, L.L. Bean created the hunting boot for himself after his feet got wet and cold on a hunting trip, and it was not an instant success. Ninety of the first 100 pairs sold in 1912 were returned after the leather separated; Bean had a satisfaction guarantee, so he returned customers’ money.

These days, the original L.L. Bean Hunting Shoe is available unlined or with various linings, including Gore-Tex, Thinsulate and shearling. There are plenty of other variations, including quilted, canvas and plaid, and even bright blue and pink leather. There are low-cut versions as well.

The hunting version has a softer rubber compound that allows a hunter to tread lightly, while the “Bean Boot” has a steel shank and tougher rubber compound that holds up better on asphalt.

All of them are still made by hand. The rubber soles are made by L.L. Bean workers in Lewiston, and they’re sewn to the leather uppers at an L.L. Bean plant in Brunswick. All told, there are currently 320 workers at L.L. Bean’s factory in Brunswick, making boots, dog beds, canvas totes other products.